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Anglican minister charged with sexual assault in pre-trial

The case of a retired Anglican minister who preached in Paris facing historical sexual assault charges is in judicial pre-trial.

The County of Brant Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Criminal Investigation Unit charged Anglican Minister George Ferris, 64, of Cambridge, Ontario for alleged sexual assaults dating back to the period from 1981 to 1988.

Ferris as first charged by the Brant OPP in December of 2011, then again in late January 2012.

During the time of the alleged incidents, Ferris was a minister at an Anglican church in Paris.

Brant County OPP media relations officer Larry Plummer said when the most recent charges were laid that he couldn't share the ages of the victims or how many there are to date, but he did say all of the complainants are male.

"More victims came forward," he said. "There's always the potential for more charges. There could be more victims out there."

No new charges have been laid since January.

The latest charges follow charges of sexual assault, gross indecency and sexual exploitation laid by the Brant County OPP in mid-December 2011

Those charges also stem from allegations of incidents in the 1980s.

Ferris is scheduled to appear in Brantford provincial court again on Sept. 19 for a judicial pre-trial.